Heart attack
by Solaris
Summary: After being fired from Grunnings Vernon yelled at Harry one too many times.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Heart attack.  
Author: Beth Brownell  
Feedback: Feedback is very much welcomed.  
Archive: Ask me first.  
Rating: PG.  
Pairing(s): None.  
Summary: After being fired from Grunnings; Vernon yelled at Harry one too many times.  
Notes: This story idea came from me thinking about how many times Vernon had yelled at Harry, something is bound to happen to Vernon like a heart attack or a stroke. The timeline of this story can be any time before Book Five. Thanks go out to Susan who helped me with this story.  
Disclaimer: I am only borrowing the characters that JKR created for a short time and I'm not receiving any money for this story. JKR is a Goddess for blessing us with them.

**Heart attack.**

Vernon was not thrilled in having _'that boy_' still living with them, but the threat Harry made about his godfather who was an escaped prisoner was enough to make them cringe when Harry walked into the room. Harry's mere presence in their home made Vernon's blood broil. To him; Harry was nothing more than a lazy bum in their home. They allowed him to stay in their home out of the goodness of their hearts. Vernon headed for work that morning, hoping for a good day at work.

"Dursley, my office now," spoke the Vernon Dursley's boss, who stood in his door watching as Vernon walked into the office.

"Yes sir," Vernon said, as he placed his lunch box down on his desk before he headed into his boss's office, knocked and entered the room. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, but first, please close the door." He said. Vernon got up from the chair to close the door. "Vernon, you have been a good worker, never demanding time off or a raise, always come in on time, takes your lunch here at work, rarely takes vacation time, you never too any sick leave. You are a very hard worker, Vernon."

Vernon thought by what his boss was stating that he was going to get a raise. There was a ton of things he could get with the raise he got for the family it would be very good. But then he got the shock of his life.

"But I'm sorry to inform you that this is your last morning with us, you are hereby fired from Grunnings. I will state on your sheet that you are a very hard worker." Vernon's boss said.

"But why am I being fired sir?" asked Vernon shocked that he was being fired.

"Of the last fifteen days, you have not sold one drill to anyone. You know the rules here, you must sell one or more drills each day. I'm sorry but I must fire you." His boss stated. "There are also a few things about couple clients who informed me, after being at your home; your son threw a cake on them."

"It wasn't my son; it was our mentally challenged nephew who we took in dumped the cake on their heads." Vernon said.

"They said that he didn't look mentally challenged and he didn't look like the type of kid to do something like that. Are you blaming him for something your son did?" asked Vernon's boss.

"No sir, my son wouldn't have done that to my clients. Harry would, he never did like having company at the house." Vernon lied.

"They informed me that you never showed that you had a nephew and you never told us about him." Vernon's boss said. "I don't like liars in my company, Mr. Dursley."

"All right, I'll tell you the truth about Harry. He's a troubled child; we tried to give him moral support since his parents died when he was a wee babe. But he gets angry and lashes out at people. I told him to remain in his room while they were here but he disobeyed." Vernon said, hoping it would save his job.

It didn't and the boss fired him for lying as well. "I do not like liars in my company, Mr. Dursley. You have fifteen minutes to clean out your desk and turn in your keys and your ID badge."

Vernon walked out of the office and into his office as he quickly cleaned out his desk. He walked out of his office and handed the secretary his keys and ID badge before he walked into the elevator and watched as the doors closed in front of him. ' i It's all Harry's fault. /i ' Vernon thought as he went to his car.

As Vernon drove home, he grew angrier at Harry. Petunia saw Vernon coming into the drive way. She stepped out of the house to greet him. Petunia asked, "Vernon, what's wrong? Why are you home so early?"

Vernon looked at her and spoke, "I got fired today, Pet."

"What? How, why?" she asked.

Vernon told her what happened and said, "We're going to have to tighten the purse strings till I get another job."

"But that means we will not be getting all the presents for Dudley this year?" asked Petunia. She was mainly worried about how Dudley would react to this news. She knew he would not want a few presents but many for his birthday. They never had given him no more than what he got the previous year.

"Dudley will understand and he will not get the numerous presents as he did," Vernon said. "Has ' i the boy /i ' been doing his chores like he is supposed to, the lazy bum?"

Petunia nodded. "He has been working all morning. He's in the backyard doing the grass."

"Tell him to go to his room now." Vernon growled, as he went into the house and picked up the brandy and started to pour himself a stiff one.

Petunia walked outside. "Boy, your room now!"

Harry knew better than to back talk to Petunia as he hurried into the house and headed up to his room. He did spy Vernon pouring a glass of brandy before he hurried out of his sight before he got yelled at.

It was about ten minutes later, when Harry heard Dudley returning home.

"Dudley, you know how many birthday presents we give you each year?" Petunia said from the living room.

"Yes, I know. I'm getting fifty presents this year," Dudley said, proudly.

"I'm sorry Dudley, but this year you will not be getting that many." Petunia said.

"What? I want my fifty presents!" screamed Dudley as he started to jump up and down in the living room. The vase on the mantle started to rock towards the edge.

"Dudley, we have to tighten our purse strings. Vernon got fired from his job today." Petunia said.

"It's Harry's fault," Vernon said.

"I want my presents! I don't care!" screamed Dudley. He started to throw his temper tantrum knowing his mother and dad will cave and give him what he wants.

"Dudley, we cannot do that! We must conserve our money!" Vernon said.

"I don't want a few presents, I want sixty presents!" Dudley screamed. "Get rid of Harry! Kick him out!"

Vernon thought hard about it and Dudley was right. If they got Harry out of their home, their luck will change for the better. " i Boy /i , get your arse down here right now!" Vernon roared.

Harry knew not to make him yell that out again as he'll pull the belt on him. He hurried down the stairs and said, "Yes, Uncle Vernon?"

Vernon snarled, "You have been causing trouble since you came here. I just got fired and it's because of you!"

Harry snapped. "Well if you got fired I had nothing to do with it. Take responsibility for your own action, Uncle Vernon!"

"You do not raise your voice to me, '_boy_'! We took you into our home instead of sending you off to an orphanage like we should have done!" Vernon snarled off. "You made Petunia's dessert be dumped onto the heads of Mr. and Mrs. Mason! You made Marge balloon up!"

"Not true! The dessert was done by a House Elf by the name of Dobby and Marge deserved what she got calling my father a drunk! I think I'll just pick up the phone and call the Bobbies on you for all the years of abuse that you and Petunia put onto me, making me a servant in your own home, barely fed any food. You will be lucky if you get probation!" Harry snapped. Harry backed towards the phone and started to pick it up.

When Vernon lunged at him and yanked the phone right out of his hand and the wall. "You will do no such thing, boy!" Vernon spat as spit flew from his mouth.

Harry knew he needed to run and did so right to his room where he grabbed his wand and rushed for the door to see Vernon storming up the stairs. "Don't even come near me."

"You forget, _Boy_, you can't do magic out of school or you be expelled from it." Vernon smirked, but then he felt a slight pain between his shoulder blades that radiated towards his arms.

"True but I'll get it reversed!" Harry yelled back.

Vernon didn't even respond to what Harry had said as he turned towards the stairs and started to walk down them when he dropped to the step he was on and grabbed his chest. Petunia and Dudley were below and saw Vernon collapse.

"Dad! What's wrong?" Dudley cried out.

"My...heart," Vernon whispered, before he passed out.

Harry rushed towards Vernon and checked for his pulse. Vernon didn't have one. "Petunia, call for an ambulance now, Dudley, open the door and wait for them to arrive. I'm going to help Vernon."

Harry knew he had no choice as he started to do mouth to mouth on Vernon. But the heart he had to use magic since Vernon was so fat it was hard for him to even push down onto his chest to get his heart pumping again. Harry grabbed his book he had been reading on medical uses for magic. He found the spell he needed to use and used it on Vernon. Harry pushed his book and his wand back into his room after he heard Dudley's voice yell out over here. Harry checked for a heartbeat to find one but it was very faint.

The medic came rushing up the stairs. "Step back, son."

Harry did so as he watched them put an IV in and put a heart monitor on Vernon. "Will he be okay?"

"Not sure, son,"

Harry watched as the medics hauled Vernon onto the stretcher and started to take Vernon down the stairs and into the ambulance. Petunia got Dudley into the family car and followed the ambulance to the hospital, leaving Harry home alone.

A lone Owl was seen flying into the house and then flew off again.

Harry read the letter and sighed, it was another letter from the Ministry for Underage magic. He picked up a quill and wrote a quick note to the Ministry stating that he used magic to save the life of his Uncle who had a possible heart attack. Vernon Dursley is in the hospital and stated which hospital he was in and then sent Hedwig off to deliver the message.

About fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang. Harry with his wand ready opened the door to see Headmaster Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Madame Pomfrey and the Minister of Magic Mr. Fudge. "You got my message then?"

"Yes, Harry, we did. Now, may we come in?" asked Dumbledore.

"Oh yes, do come in. I'm sorry that Petunia couldn't be here to give you more information," Harry said. "But she and Dudley are at the hospital with Vernon."

"So why did you use magic, Harry. Was it to defend yourself against Vernon?" asked Mr. Fudge.

"Because he had a heart attack and with his girth, just trying to push against his chest to give him CPR was impossible so I used this spell from this book to get his heart to start pumping again." Harry stated, as he handed Mr. Fudge the book called First Aid for Wizards and Witches.

Mr. Fudge read the spell that Harry had used and handed it over to Madame Pomfrey. "What do you say about this spell for reviving a heart, Madame Pomfrey?"

"It is a very good spell, it is meant for those who had their hearts fail and the wizard or witch cannot get to them in time to actually push against their chest. This spell is not to be used lightly and only when it is needed. Harry must have needed to use it and if he had to use it, it must have been very important for him to do so." Madame Pomfrey stated.

Mr. Fudge looked at Remus and Madame Pomfrey. "Perhaps the two of you could go see the Dursleys at the hospital and report back to us about what happened to Vernon Dursley?"

Madame Pomfrey and Remus went to the hospital to see about Vernon Dursley. They found out that he's in the ICU ward and couldn't have any visitors since he was critical condition. They asked Petunia what happened. Petunia told them that he was yelling at Harry and he collapsed. Harry used magic on Vernon and if he didn't do anything, Vernon might have died right then and there.

Remus thanked her and they quickly hurried back to Harry's side. "Harry saved Vernon's life with what he did. If he didn't, Vernon could have died."

"How bad is he?" asked Mr. Fudge.

"He's critical," Remus replied. "He's in the ICU ward right now."

Dumbledore turned to Mr. Fudge and asked, "Is that enough evidence to remove the infraction on Harry Potter about this?"

"Yes, I will have it reversed immediately. It was a noble thing you did for your uncle, Harry." Mr. Fudge said, as he looked for a quill and some parchments. "Harry, do you have any parchments on you?"

Harry said, "I have some in my room."

Mr. Fudge spoke, "May I have some so I can get this reversed?"

"This way, sir," Harry said, as they headed up the stairs and it was there that they noticed the locks on one door. "Don't mind the locks; it's what they put on my door to lock me in my room."

Mr. Fudge asked, "How long have they treated you like this for how long?"

"Since the day I arrived. You may not know this but they lock my trunk in the cupboard the minute that I return to this house and thrown into my room. Last year they finally allowed me to take my trunk into my room and this year. From the moment the sun rose to when it set, I was their slave. I cook, clean and do all the chores that Dudley, Vernon and Petunia should do."

Mr. Fudge looked shocked. "That is deplorable, Harry. I will not allow this to go on any longer, Harry. I will talk to the Weasleys' and see if they'll take you in this case and I will let the protective services know about this. Vernon once he's out of the hospital will probably go to jail. Petunia will probably be on probation."

"Please sir, don't inform them. They know they can't hurt me without getting my godfather after them." Harry said, looking at Remus.

"Your godfather is a criminal, Harry." Mr. Fudge stated.

"Not Sirius, Remus Lupin is my godfather, he found my parent's will and they stated that if Sirius is slain by Death Eaters during his time as being my godfather, Remus is to assume Godfather status over me." Harry said.

Mr. Fudge looked at him. "I didn't know that Remus Lupin was your godfather. I will need you to go live with the Weasleys' till further notice."

"No sir, I cannot leave the house till school starts up again. My blood ties are here." Harry stated.

Remus looked at Dumbledore and asked, "Is it because of Petunia being Lily's sister?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It is, Remus."

Remus was shocked. "How could Lily's sister treat her nephew so badly by abusing him? She doesn't deserve being his aunt."

Dumbledore nodded. "I agree with you, Remus, she may have felt jealous of Lily and decided to take it out on Harry."

Madame Pomfrey looked over at Dumbledore and spoke, "Headmaster, maybe it is time for us to go tend to getting Harry a temporary home."

Dumbledore nodded as he left the Dursley home and paid a visit with the Weasleys. They accepted Harry into the family. Dumbledore returned and informed them that the Weasleys would take Harry in. But Harry wouldn't hear of it.

"But Harry, they abused you." Remus stated.

"I know, but this is where I am safe beyond Hogwarts," Harry stated. "If I had a choice I would stay at Hogwarts."

"But why would you stay here with them with their abuse?" asked Mr. Fudge.

"After what has happened, I think they will have a little more respect for me." Harry stated.

Remus spoke up, "Perhaps Mr. Fudge should lower the age of underage wizardry in this house be twelve years old since Harry may need to use magic again."

"Well, that is a big possibility now that I have seen what the living conditions are for young Mr. Harry Potter. I'll get it taken care of immediately." Mr. Fudge stated, as he hurried back down the stairs. "We should really be off. I'm sure Petunia Dursley wouldn't like having us here when she returns home."

"Thank you for coming," Harry said, as he watched as they left the Dursley home. He wondered how Vernon was fairing at the hospital. He was almost tempted to pick up the phone and call to find out but he figured they would be home soon, so he started making dinner for them.

Petunia and Dudley came home to smell food in the air. They headed to the kitchen to see food on the table. Harry was sitting there looking worried. "Why are you still here? They said that you would be leaving the house tonight."

"I informed the Minister of Magic that I used magic to help save the life of my uncle, they have accepted that answer after they spoke with you. How is he?" asked Harry.

"He had a heart attack. He'll be in the hospital for a few days but they said whoever kept his heart pumping saved his life. I do not like saying this but thank you, Harry for what you did." Petunia said.

Harry replied. "You're welcome. I want you to know I didn't out of love but I did it because I didn't want a person to die because I did nothing."

"Well, anyways, off to bed you go, it was a very hard evening for us all," Petunia said, as she sat down at the table.

The next morning, Harry got up to cook but Petunia was cooking breakfast and she told Harry to sit and eat with Dudley.

"Are you going to see Vernon today?" asked Harry, as he sat down in the other chair across from Dudley.

"Yes, we are as soon as we finish with breakfast. Do you want to come with us, Harry?" asked Petunia.

"Mum, he'll finish the job what he didn't complete yesterday!" whined Dudley.

"Dudley, he didn't try to kill Vernon, yesterday. I know my magic when I see it done. He was trying to help him live," Petunia said and then she realized what she said. "Dudley, your aunt was a witch and as much as I hated her being a witch since I was nothing but a Muggle. In Lily's fifth year, she brought home her friends, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and James Potter. I figured I would try her wand out and used a spell I heard Sirius Black say. Needless to state, I ended up being in the Wizards' hospital Saint Mungo to get myself back to normal again. After that, I really hated magic."

Harry was shocked. He didn't know that was why she hated magic because a spell she used had backfired on her. "A wand can be a dangerous weapon if in the wrong hands, Petunia. You were lucky that you didn't get yourself killed."

"I know, that's what Remus said when I came to at the hospital. I think he had a crush on me but he kept hiding something from me and when I asked him about it, he would ignore my question. Do you know what he's hiding, Harry?" asked Petunia.

"I do but I think you might want to hear it from him. Hi Professor," spoke Harry, as he turned towards the open patio door to see Remus Lupin walking towards them.

"Harry, I'm not your professor anymore," Remus chided him softly.

"Hi Remus," Petunia said. "You heard what I had asked of Harry didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. I want you to read this page where I have it marked," Remus said, handing her the book about magical creatures and the page where he had marked.

Harry looked at it before Petunia started to read it. The page was marked on Werewolves. Remus was going to tell them about his Lycanthropy.

Remus waited till she was finished reading it. "Petunia, every month on the full moon, I become that monster. I was bitten when I was five years old. I spent my life dealing with the monster within me. It was one of the reasons why I told you what I told you back then,"

"That you were gay," Petunia said.

"Yes, it was to protect you mainly for if the day came that we were together when the full moon was out, I could hurt you severely or kill you or even make you one of the werewolves out there," Remus stated.

Petunia looked shocked. "You mean you hid the truth from me so you would protect me from your monster that is hidden within you?"

"Yes, I did. I didn't want anyone else to be burden with this curse as I was. Sirius tried to get one of the other students who they hated either killed or turned into a werewolf by me," Remus replied.

"The one with the hook nose?" asked Petunia.

"Severus Snape, yes, he was the one who he tried to kill or turned into a werewolf," Remus stated, as he sat down in the same seat that would be seated Vernon.

Harry couldn't believe it, Petunia knew about Snape. "You had seen Professor Snape?"

"So he's a Professor now?" Petunia asked.

"Yes, he is. Potion Master and the head of the Slytherin House," Harry stated.

"Remus; is Harry in serious trouble with what he did yesterday?" asked Petunia.

"At first, he was expelled..." Remus started to say.

"That bloody great! He deserves it!" snapped Dudley.

"But after he explained himself and after Pomfrey and I had paid a visit to the hospital, Harry's violation for use of magic was voided and he has been allowed to use magic out of school within this house," Remus finished.

Dudley cringed now that Harry had permission to use his magic in the house now he knew he was in for serious butt whipping from Harry.

"Don't worry about getting your sorry fat arse whipped from me with my magic, Dudley; you won't unless you deserve it." Harry growled. "The same goes with your father if he tries anything with me again."

Remus turned to Petunia. "I will not be staying for long. I'm heading back to the Wizardry world to get everything finalized."

"Get what finalized?" asked Dudley. He was in a way curious about their world, even though he got a pig's tail from that giant person.

"Me adopting Harry as my son," Remus stated.

Petunia's eyes went wide as she slammed her fist onto the table. "No! I will not allow it! You will not be adopting him!"

"Petunia, I am his guardian now, but Harry has decided to remain here till school starts when he will return to Hogwarts," Remus spoke. Petunia was upset. "If you and your husband along with Dudley didn't treat Harry like trash that you did to him for years and now this I don't think this is a good environment for him to live here anymore."

"We can change that. I realized that we have mistreated him and we will make the next summer months be better than they were previously," Petunia said. Dudley agreed as well.

Remus looked at them and finished his cup of tea, walked to the back yard and vanished. Harry wondered if their attitude would change now that he's gone and for how long.

"I guess we best get the chores done before we head off to the hospital," Petunia said.

**TBC . . .**


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: Thanks goes out to the reviewers of this story. Thank you for your reviews and now here is chapter two. Enjoy.

* * *

_**Chapter Two.**

Petunia, Dudley and Harry visited Vernon daily, but he only woke up on the fifth day. When they got to the hospital, the doctor wanted to see the young man who saved Vernon's life. Dudley tried to take credit for it but Petunia spoke up and pulled Harry in front of them. The doctor told them that the heart attack was major, but thankfully, no major damage was done to his heart. Vernon however would need to rest for a week before they started therapy; he was to be on a heart healthy diet and also do some exercise.

Vernon immediately complained to the doctor, assuring the doctor that Vernon did eat a healthy did and did often exercise, but the doctor didn't agree. After all, he'd just had a massive heart attack, he was lucky he wasn't dead, and there had to be a reason.

"Now you will visit with a diet specialist and start an exercise program. If you don't do this, you will have another heart attack and that one may kill you," his doctor informed him.

Vernon was shocked as he knew the doctor was right. "Can I still eat meat?"

"Yes, but your limit is once a week, you can eat as much chicken and fish as you want," the doctor stated.

"Anything else?" asked Vernon.

"You can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, but no butter or salt. There are herbs that you can use to flavor your dishes without the use of butter," the doctor said.

"Poppycock, fish is harmful to your health!" Vernon said.

"Actually, it's healthier than chicken is," the doctor stated. "Even if you remove the skin of the chicken,"

"But the skin of the chicken is the best!" Vernon exclaimed.

"Turkey is another meat that is also good for you," the doctor replied.

"But we have turkey only once a year?" Vernon moaned. He knew his wife's cooking was not that good, only Harry made the food better than she did. His mind went to Harry; did he do something to him? He would have to wait until the doctor was out of the room to ask him.

"Your nephew really did well for you acting as fast as he did. You owe him your life. Now I must be off, nurse Susan will be here with information about heart attacks," the doctor stated, before he shook Vernon's hand, Petunia's, smiled towards Harry and Dudley before he walked out of the room.

Vernon turned towards Harry and snapped, "What did you do, _Boy_?"

Harry closed the door and turned to Vernon. He said. "I just used magic to get your heart working again."

Petunia spoke, "Vernon, he saved you from dying. The Minister of Magic did come to the house and authorized Harry to use magic out of school only in the house; they have seen what we had done to Harry, abusing him using him as a servant in our home. They warned us if we don't shape up, they'll charge us with child abuse."

"Child abuse, hogwash, he lied to them!" Vernon snapped. "He didn't use magic to help me."

"Really, then read this chapter, Uncle Vernon. I'll be back; I need to use the bathroom." Harry said, as he handed him the book on Healing Magic. He headed for the door and opened it as a young brown haired woman wearing a nurse's clothes had started to open it. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," the nurse said, as she walked into the room. "Vernon Dursley, I'm Susan, I have here the list of food that you can and can not eat."

Vernon roared. "That's bloody rubbish! I won't follow it!"

"Then, I'm sorry Mrs. Dursley for the loss of your husband," Susan said, turning to Petunia.

"What? I'm still here?" roared Vernon.

"Well, if you do not follow what is on your diet, you will die, if you follow it, you will live. What would you rather have life or death?" asked Susan.

Vernon growled. "_Life_…"

Susan smiled, "You will need to follow the diet fully, Mr. Dursley?"

"Yes," Vernon gritted his teeth in anger; he was not very happy at all that he had to stop eating all his favorite meals because of his heart attack.

Dudley looked at Petunia and whined. "I'm _hungry_!"

"We'll be going home soon, pumpkin; then we eat," Petunia said, as she looked at the list of food that Vernon was not allowed to eat. It was most of the food in the house. She wondered if they could handle this type of food that now must come into the house. She now knew it would be a rare treat to get something sweet in her house; perhaps even only once a week. She might not want to tempt him so soon with a sweet treat, so she marked it in her mind that it would be once a month till he lost enough weight to where they could have a treat once every two weeks.

Harry returned to see Susan walking out of the room. "Did he accept the diet plan?"

"Yes, he did, but very reluctantly. I think he likes his steaks and sweets. He's lucky that he's not diabetic," Susan said, as she headed into another room.

Vernon turned to see who entered the room to find that it was Harry. "Well, '_Boy_', you better behave for Petunia while I'm in the hospital."

"I hope you read the book, Uncle Vernon, it will show you what spell I used to save your life," Harry said.

"I'm not sure if I will read it, Boy." Vernon snapped, putting the book by his side.

"Well, we better go before they kick us out. I'll be back tomorrow, dear," Petunia said, as she kissed him, before they left the hospital for home.

* * *

It was late at night, there was nothing to watch on the telly, and so Vernon flipped on the light and picked up the book on Healing Magic. He flipped a few pages and started to read it. He looked around for a pen and papers but found none. He called the nurse.

"Yes, Mr. Dursley?" asked the nurse.

"Could I have some paper and a pen? I have something that I need to jot down before I lose it," Vernon said.

"I'll be right over," the nurse said.

A minute later, Vernon had a pen and paper in hand. Vernon wrote down several questions that the book created for him to ask Harry in the morning.

Soon, after an hour of reading the book, he grew sleepy and he put the book aside, before finally falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Petunia, Dudley and Harry went through the pantry removing anything that was not on the good list. They placed all the food that they were not going to have in the house in a paper sack to give to a local food pantry.

Dudley looked at the time. "Mum, time to go visit dad!"

"Vernon can wait a few more minutes, this is very important as he may be coming home later today and all this food must be gone," Petunia said.

Harry; using his magic to lift the paper sack to the table as Dudley opened another paper sack, it took them another fifteen minutes to clean out the pantry before they loaded it in the boot of the car and delivered it to the local food pantry. They were thanked for what they gave to the food pantry. They headed off to the hospital to visit with Vernon and hopefully hear the news that he's coming home today.

* * *

Susan was sitting on the bed with him as he was browsing the breakfast menu.

"I'll have the grapefruit with toast light on the toasting with jelly, and a small bowl of oatmeal and hot tea for my drink." Vernon said, as he looked at Susan who jotted everything down.

"And what do you want for lunch?" Susan asked.

"Turkey sandwich, cottage cheese and tea for lunch," Vernon stated. He scanned over it one more time. "Oh for dessert, I'll have a fruit cup."

"That's a good choice in desert, Vernon," Susan said, as she jotted it down. "I'll get this in and the food nurses will come by in about half an hour."

Once, Susan was out of the room. Vernon's eyes went to Dudley. "Dudley, close the door. I need to ask you some questions, Harry about the book you let me read last night?"

Dudley looked at his father before he waddled over to the door and closed it. In the back of his mind, he wondered what his father was going to say to Harry.

"Harry, I have some questions that I need answering," Vernon said.

Harry nodded. "Ask what you need, I'll answer them and if I can't I'll get someone who knows the answers."

Vernon asked his questions to Harry, who answered most of them but he didn't know about the others. "So who is this person who knows the answers?"

"Madame Pomfrey, she's Hogwarts school nurse. She's the best nurse at the school. She healed my disappeared bones in my right arm by a potion that I had to drink down and contend with having it re-grown during the night. Quite a painful event,"

"Can you call her to come in?" asked Vernon.

"I'll summon her with a fire call as she's working on restocking the hospital wing for this coming school year and you can ask your questions to her." Harry said, as he made a motion with his hand to put this conversation to bed till a later time.

A knock was heard as the door opened up to reveal a nurse carrying in a plate. "Good morning, Mr. Dursley, here's your breakfast."

Vernon said, "Thank you."

The nurse put the tray on the table and left the room. Vernon removed the lid of the tray and searched for the sugar packet for the grapefruit but realized that it was not on his diet. "Pet, be sure we have cantaloupes for breakfast. I like them."

Petunia said, "Sure what about grapefruit?"

Vernon nodded. "That too and also fruit cup as well please,"

"We'll add it to the food list," Petunia said. "Dudley got good news."

"I got a summer job doing a newspaper route, I figure it will help me lose weight and also get some money. I'll give some of my money that I earn into the family jar for treats like going out to dinner or going to see a movie." Dudley stated.

Vernon smiled at his son. "That is very thoughtful of you, son. Thank you, and we will do it maybe in a month or so all right?"

Dudley nodded as he smiled.

Vernon turned towards Harry and told him that he'll be splitting the chores between him, Dudley, Pet and himself.

Harry was shocked that Vernon's attitude was not mean towards him like it was twenty four hours ago. He didn't know why the change. "Vernon, why are you changing your attitude towards me?"

Vernon looked at him. "Well I bloody treated you wrongly for years and I want to make amends is that all right with you?"

"Alright," Harry said.

The doctor came in and listened to Vernon's heart and chest. "Vernon, do you smoke?"

"No, I don't," Vernon said.

"Were you around anyone who did?" asked the doctor.

"No…well there was an employee at Grunnings that smoked in the building for about three years before we finally got him to stop smoking inside but take it outside." Vernon said.

"Well, we want to make sure that you do not have lung cancer, Mr. Dursley," the doctor said.

Vernon nodded. "Well do what you have to do then,"

"Good, we'll be scanning your chest for any signs of lung cancer. It will be about 10am when they will get you," the doctor said.

Ten am came as the nurses came for Vernon and took him to the X-ray machine where they scanned him and then had his lungs CAT scanned as well.

It wasn't till about two in the afternoon did word come back negative on both scans. Vernon got lucky as he didn't have any signs of lung cancer.

Vernon was relieved that he didn't have lung cancer as he took hold of Petunia's hand. "When can I get out of here and back home?"

The doctor looked at his chart and then to Vernon. "Is tomorrow too soon? If you behave yourself, you can leave. If not, you will be stuck here for a while."

Vernon nodded. "I promise to behave myself, is it possible for me to leave tomorrow."

"Yes, if the beat of your heart is good and strong, you can," the doctor informed him.

Susan entered the room after she had spoken with the doctor. "I hear that someone is going home tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'm going home tomorrow and I am so thrilled in going home. I actually got worried that I was not going to return when the doctor told me that I had a heart attack. I guess my temper started my heart attack." Vernon said.

"Did you have any stress that day?" asked Susan.

"No….yes, I got fired that morning and I put the blame of my firing on my nephew who ended up saving me when he could have allowed me to die," Vernon admitted, looking at his nephew and then back to Susan.

"Well, you are family, Uncle Vernon," Harry replied.

Susan turned to Vernon as she handed him some pamphlets on anger managements and what to expect living after a heart attack with diet and exercise. "I would find a group close to your home for anger management and a support group for those people who have had heart attacks. There are several groups out there for heart attacks and your wife and son might want to join a support group for families of heart attack sufferers."

"Will that help?" asked Vernon.

"Yes, it will help your family cope and you with what had happened to you. I have set a stress test for you to do in six months to see how your heart is doing. Mind you, you will need to start an exercise program. Start off simple with a light walk around the neighborhood till you can do it without getting your heartbeat over a certain level. It will be written down on the release papers." Susan informed him.

**TBC . . .**


End file.
